The Ascent is a live-action performance installation that allows individual participants to levitate over 30 feet into the air through interactive sound and lighting via the power of their own focus & meditation.

The Ascent is a live-action performance installation that allows individual participants to levitate over 30 feet into the air through interactive sound and lighting via the power of their own focus and meditation.

1/8/15

Our secret GAMESHOW - UPDATE

Our secret GAMESHOW using our very own custom EEG technology is in final edits and wil be airing in Canada late this month! Stay tuned for info on when/where and how to see it. Hopefully we'll also have a link up on our vimeo page so you can check it out. So exciting!

10/1/2014

Our secret GAMESHOW

We've been secretly working on a television gameshow with Mark Burnett and his company OTT for the past two years and are finally FILMING in Vancouver, Canada! We're so happy to be making this after so much hard work and development. Stay tuned for airing dates and more info!

Nov 7th, 2013

Speaking at Cal Arts MTIID Dept.

The Ascent creator Yehuda Duenyas (xxxy) will be speaking at Cal Arts's MTIID department on November 7th, 2013 in the Machine Lab at 7:10 pm. If you are in the Los Angeles area come check it out! http://mtiid.calarts.edu/

5/14/13

Augmented World Expo 2013

The Ascent creator xxxy will be speaking at the Augmented World Expo in Santa Clara, CA on June 4th and 5th. If you are in the bay area please come on down. More details at http://augmentedworldexpo.com/

2/21/2013

Volumetric Society Meetup in NYC

The Ascent creator Yehuda Duenyas will be speaking at The Volumetric Society of NYC's next MeetUp! Join us on Monday, February 25th from 6:30 - 8:30 pm at 3 Legged Dog Art & Tech Center, 80 Greenwich St., NYChttp://nyc.volumetric.org/events/103017332/

12/18/12

Happy Holidays from The Ascent

The Ascent team and Mindride LLC wish you and yours a safe and happy holiday season.

Stay tuned for upcoming 2013 dates of The Ascent.

Sign our Mailing list and like us on Facebook in the meantime!

Let us know what city you're in, so we can levitate you in your own town!

Stay in the Blue-zone!

xxxy, mindride, and theascent

6/23/2012

The Ascent Sunset Park Rocked!

We had a great ride-test session in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.Thank you, thank you to the 160+ riders who came out, for your feedback, comments, and epic-wins!Stay tuned for the next launch of The Ascent in the coming months.In the meantime, like us on Facebook here, and check out the great NYTimes article here.See you at the next launch!

Working With Good Sense & Company

The Ascent is a mind-controlled immersive ride/game spectacle that allows riders to levitate high into the air through saturated environments of interactive lighting, sound, and atmospherics.

The Ascent puts riders in the center of a mind-controlled game world. Using mental power, riders control their own flight experience, crossing through enormous atmospheric thresholds, while triggering overwhelming EEG-reactive lighting and sound. Riders can achieve an epic-win by rising to the top of the ride, and are rewarded by an indoor firework display of hi-octane theatrics and show-stopping spectacle.

Part adventure ride, part spiritual quest, this epic experience is the first neuro-driven ride of it's kind, and as of June 2012 was considered the largest EEG bio-feedback machine in the world. The Ascent uses neuro-technology, custom software, and an original show-control system to deliver a mythic, mind-altering take on the intersections between humans and machines, transcendence and technology.

The Ascent is fully automated, driven by custom software and hardware. A single rider is strapped into a safety harness, wearing a headband embedded with an EEG brain-wave sensor and wireless transmitter. As the rider begins to concentrate, The Ascent's custom show control system monitors the rider's brain state. The power of the rider's calm and focus drives the system, lifting the rider into the air, while dynamically controlling sound and lighting. The Ascent is structured like a game, presenting increasing levels of difficulty as the rider ascends.

The experience is designed for the general public; guests sign up or wait in line to ride. There is also an observation deck for audience to vicariously participate in the experience.

THE ASCENT CAN BE INSTALLED IN A VARIETY OF VENUES AND ENVIRONMENTS, BOTH INDOORS AND OUTDOORS.

Standard Touring Model

The standard touring model is designed to fit into large interior spaces: armories, theaters, convention centers, gymnasiums, warehouses, barns, churches, museums, and other grand-scale environments. The below specs are ideal, however please note that the installation is able to adapt to the specific architecture of a given venue.

The primary logistical requirement is adequate ceiling height and strength. Ideally, ceiling height should be a minimum of 35 feet (10.67 meters), and ceiling must have rigging points and/or exposed I-beams that can bear a weight of 8 tons (7257kg) total, with single point loads of 1 ton (907.2 kg) each. The ideal footprint for a standard touring rig is a clear ground area of 40' x 50' (12.19 m x 15.24 m).

Custom Installations

The Ascent can also be custom installed indoors and out of doors for site-specific presentations. Do you have a clock tower or a grain silo? A large lobby or a vaulted cathedral? A museum space? A large field or a beach? Please contact The Ascent to discuss custom installations.

A full technical rider is available upon request. Please feel free to contact us for more information.

THE ASCENT WAS CREATED BY XXXY (YEHUDA DUENYAS).

Yehuda Duenyas is the CCO of Mindride LLC, an artist-driven company specializing in next-generation experiential entertainment. Duenyas creates immersive encounters and interactive events, playful environments that sensuously evoke the mythic, the intimate, the ridiculous, and the sublime. Duenyas created The Ascent, a mind-controlled physical ride/game that was recently considered the largest EEG bio-feedback machine in the world by the New York Times. Bridging the gap between the physical and the virtual, his techniques emerge from his passion and experience working in the arenas of immersive theater, interactive technology, ride design, large-scale events, gaming, and physical computing. Presented nationally and internationally, and with an extensive background as a theater artist and director, Duenyas has custom-built numerous venues and mounted a range of award-winning productions and spectacles that re-envision how audiences engage and interact with live experience. He has consulted for Walt Disney Imagineering, holds an MFA in Integrated Electronic Arts from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and is a founding member of the multi-award-winning theater collaborative the National Theater of the United States of America (NTUSA). Yehuda lives and works in Los Angeles and New York.